


Here with me

by Ailendolin



Category: Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Nightmares, Past Torture, Past Violence, Post-Thor: Ragnarok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-02-01 00:48:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12693597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailendolin/pseuds/Ailendolin
Summary: Spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok.The first night after Loki comes back he sinks into an exhausted sleep. On the second night the nightmares start.





	Here with me

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set post-Thor: Ragnarok but ignores the after-credits scene. It deals with themes of torture, violence and implied non-con (and by implied I mean very vaguely implied) and the repercussions of trauma such as this, so if that is not your cup of tea you might not want to read it. It's based on some assumptions, for example that Loki was sort of mind-controlled in The Avengers and had to pay at least some kind of prize for his favor with the Grandmaster, and deals with the fall-out. 
> 
> Also, I'm not a native speaker and this isn't beta'd, so if you find any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned here. They are the property of Marvel.

**Here with me**

The first night on their ship bound for a new place to call home Loki collapsed on a pile of blankets that functioned as a makeshift bed in Thor’s room and slept for ten hours straight. Setting Surtur free and escaping his fiery wrath had left him exhausted and aching all over from using too much magic at once. His sleep was blessedly dreamless that night, something that had been hard to come by ever since he found out about his true origin, and he woke up well-rested and clear of mind the next morning.

“Good morning, brother,” Thor said warmly the moment Loki opened his eyes.

Only years, centuries, really, of perfecting his masks prevented Loki from showing how much Thor’s presence startled him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he didn’t wake up alone. It might have been in Asgard, back when he’d been in prison. He’d had nightmares then, too, and somehow his mother had known and watched over him. Her face had been full of concern when he had woken up screaming but instead of being comforted by her presence Loki felt utterly humiliated that she had witnessed his moment of weakness. He had told her to go away, to leave him alone, and she had, her eyes full of sadness and regret. Her pained eyes still haunted him to this day.

“Good morning, Thor,” Loki finally greeted his brother and turned around.

Thor sat cross-legged on his bed, already dressed for the day. He was looking cheerful despite the fact that their home had been destroyed only the day before and they were now on the run with their people. Loki’s gaze wandered from his good eye to the wound, now hidden beneath an eye patch that made Thor look too much like Odin for Loki’s liking.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, unable to tear his eyes away.

Thor shrugged, his smile faltering a little. “It is nothing I can’t bear.”

Loki’s gaze shifted to Thor’s good eye. “You haven’t been to see the healers,” he realized with a frown. “Why?”

“They have enough work on their hands,” Thor explained, looking away.

“There is never enough work when it comes to the wellbeing of the king,” Loki told him sharply. He stood up, feeling oddly exposed in just his trousers and a loose-fitting shirt next to Thor in all his armor. “Let me see?”

It was not an order but a request. Thor patted the empty space next to him in invitation. He took off the eye patch and Loki’s breath hitched as he saw the angry red skin around the wound. He fixed Thor with a glare. “You should have gone to the healers,” he said quietly.

“I know,” was all Thor said. “I should have done a lot of things.”

Loki paused and something unspoken passed between them. “As should I have,” he acknowledged quietly. “Allow me?”

Tentatively, he raised his hand towards Thor’s missing eye, waiting for Thor’s approval. When Thor nodded, he gently placed his hand over the wound and called on his seiꝺr. There was nothing he could do about the destroyed eye but he could draw the infection out and speed up the healing process so that his brother was no longer in any pain.

“That feels better,” Thor said once Loki retracted his hand. He put on the eye patch again. “Thank you, brother.”

“You’re welcome,” Loki said and found himself meaning it.

They spent the day plotting a course for Midgard, making plans and looking after their people. Thor made sure to include Loki in every decision he made which Loki hadn’t expected. It was baffling to see how much Thor seemed to value his opinion and advice. They worked well together and it was only when Thor went to see Banner that their ways parted in the evening. Loki had no intentions of being closer to the Hulk than was necessary in the confines of this ship, so he excused himself and went to their shared quarters on his own.

He pulled off his armor and rolled his shoulders once the weight was lifted off them. His eyes roamed the empty walls of the room. He longed for a book, anything to keep his mind busy now that was alone and without any distraction, but the depressive grey walls only served as a stark reminder of everything that was gone.

Briefly, Loki closed his eyes and tried to calm down his heart. He hated being alone with his thoughts and without any means to occupy his mind with. Once his thoughts had been all he had left but then Thanos got a hold of him and his mind had been no longer his own. Loki shuddered at the memory and wrapped his arms around himself. He hoped Thor would come back soon, if only to provide some background noise in the too-quiet room.

It was an hour later when Thor finally walked into their shared quarters. Loki had moved to his pile of blankets and was staring out into space, trying to find some familiar constellations in the darkness. He turned around when the door opened behind him.

“There you are,” he said, trying hard not to sound as relieved as he felt.

Thor looked at him in amusement. “Did you miss me, brother?”

Loki scoffed and rolled his eyes. “As if,” he muttered. “Any progress with Banner?”

“Still big and green,” Thor confirmed Loki’s fears. “He told me before that he might never be able to turn back to his human form once he’s changed into the Hulk again. If that proves to be true, Banner sacrificed a lot to help our people.”

Loki nodded, willing to grant the monster that, at least. “A lot of good people paid a heavy price yesterday. I know I haven’t said it before but I am sorry about your friends, Thor.”

Pain flashed in Thor’s good eye and he bowed his head in grief. “They will be feasting in Valhalla now,” he said quietly. “One day we will meet again.”

“Not too soon, I hope,” Loki said, unable to help himself.

“I shall not think so,” Thor said softly.

Embarrassed, Loki turned away to look back at the stars. Behind him, he heard Thor fumbling briefly with his armor before it hit the ground with a quiet clang that echoed around the room. The sheets of the bed rustled and a moment later Thor bade him goodnight.

Loki took that as his cue to turn in as well. Reluctantly he lay down on his makeshift bed and pulled one of the blankets up to his chin. He wanted to say something, anything that would drown out the deafening silence, the thoughts and images in his mind that refused to go away, but for once words failed him and he remained quiet. His eyes drifted to the window once more and he began counting the stars.

He must have drifted off because the next thing he knew was the sensation of falling. His eyes opened to the sheer vastness of space where stars rushed past him at a blinding speed. Fear constricted his throat and made his heart beat faster in his chest. He wanted to scream but couldn’t. The words of Odin echoed in his head, the disappointment and rejection clear as day. Thor’s anguish followed him all the way down into nothingness.

Then the scene changed and he was standing on a street next to his brother. Without warning the ground beneath his feet opened up. His stomach lurched and he was falling again. Grey landscapes passed by him on his way to nowhere, so different from the blackness of space, but the feeling of helplessness was the same. Loki had no idea what was going on but he just knew his worst fears had just come true: Thanos had finally found him. There was no other possible explanation. He wanted to weep.

Next, everything was colorful. He was on the Bifrost and being transported back to Asgard until suddenly he wasn’t. He was violently thrown off the bridge and falling again, falling and falling until he didn’t know where up and down were anymore.

Just before he painfully landed on Sakaar he woke up with a start. His heart was hammering in his chest and his hands were clenching the blanket so tightly they were close to ripping it to pieces. Panic coursed through his veins as he frantically looked around.

“Loki?” Thor asked sleepily from the bed.

Relieved, Loki closed his eyes and forced his heart to calm down. He was safe on a ship headed for Midgard. Thor was right there with him, and neither of them was falling. He was safe.

“Go back to sleep, Thor,” Loki said, willing his voice not to reveal how shaken he truly was.

Apparently he didn’t succeed because Thor asked, concern evident in his tone, “Are you alright?”

“Just a dream,” Loki said dismissively, even though it was anything but that. His nightmares hadn’t been this bad since he escaped Thanos’s clutches.

Thor was quiet for a moment before he said, “I’m here for you, Loki,” unknowingly echoing their mother’s words from so long ago when she tried to comfort Loki in prison the same way. “I just want you to know that.”

Grief washed over Loki and he clenched his eyes shut.

“Thank you,” he whispered – words he could never bring himself to say to his mother, no matter how much he wanted to. He regretted that to this day.

It didn’t take Thor long to fall back asleep. Loki concentrated on his brother’s even breathing until he finally calmed down enough and could close his eyes again. The rhythmic pattern of Thor’s breaths felt oddly comforting and Loki pulled the blankets tighter around himself as he let the soft sounds guide him back to sleep. No more nightmares plagued him for the rest of the night.

The next evening, Loki thought he knew what to expect. In prison, he had dreamed of nothing but falling for weeks, and as terrifying and frustrating as that had been he’d learned to live with it then and he would do so again now. He made sure to stay busy during the day, helping out the healers with his magic whenever he could. After ten hours of mending broken bones and healing wounds he felt exhausted enough to head to bed. When he arrived at his shared quarters with Thor the room was empty. The silence felt stifling but Loki resolutely ignored it and prepared for bed. He lay down and forced himself to close his eyes. Thanks to his exhaustion he fell asleep before Thor came back.

This time, though, he wasn’t falling. Warily, Loki looked around. He knew this place but before he realized where he was someone, something behind him roared and he froze.

‘Please not him,’ he thought.

Loki didn’t even have time to turn around before the Hulk grabbed him and smashed him against the floor, again and again and again. There was no time to scream, no time to plead for help as bone after bone in his body broke under the assault.

Then, just like that, it was over and he was back on Sakaar in the arena. He felt his hands trembling with fear when he realized who the Grandmaster’s champion was. Everything in him told him to run, to flee and get as far away from this place as he could. He felt the phantom pain of broken bones and dimly realized that he was about to have a panic attack when the Hulk turned to look at him and-

Loki woke up with a gasp and desperately pushed the blankets away, feeling stifled and imprisoned by them. His heart was hammering in his chest at a speed that would have concerned him had he not been preoccupied with trying to get his breathing back under control. He could not lose the battle with his panic, not now, not here.

“Loki?” Thor’s gentle voice carried across the room and Loki flinched violently, freezing up.

“Stay away!” he commanded, remembering his brother’s indifference back in New York and his utter lack of compassion on Sakaar. Every bone in his body ached.

Loki heard rustling behind him and just like in the arena he felt the overwhelming urge to run away. Before Thor even got out of bed Loki stood up and fled out of the room. His brother’s cries followed him down the corridor but his steps didn’t. Loki was glad for that. He chose the first empty room he found and locked himself inside it. In the small confines of the supply closet he finally felt safe enough, knowing that the Hulk couldn’t get to him in here. Balling his hands into fists, he used all the strength he had to wrestle his panicked breathing back under his control. His fingernails left imprints on the palms of his hands.

Finally, he felt like he could breathe again. He allowed himself to lean against the wall and slowly sank to the ground. His bare feet were freezing on the cold floor and he wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to get warm. He knew he could go back to his room where warm blankets waited for him but he didn’t feel yet ready to face Thor and the questions his brother undoubtedly would have.

Loki let his head fall back against the wall with a dull thud. Maybe he shouldn’t have returned after all. He’d been put on display once already in Asgard’s prison and he hadn’t cared for it one bit then and he didn’t care for it now. There was no privacy, no hiding away on a ship as small as this which carried so many people.

“Loki?” Are you in there?”

Case in point.

Tired, Loki closed his eyes. “Leave me alone, Thor,” he said with no real heat behind it.

“I will,” Thor promised quietly from the other side of the door, much to Loki’s surprise. “I just wanted to know if you’re alright. Are you?”

Loki scoffed. He hadn’t been alright in a long, long time. “I’m fine, you can go now.”

“I know you’re lying,” Thor said, “but I don’t blame you. I just want you to know that you can talk to me when you’re ready. And I’ve brought you a blanket. May I come in and give it to you?”

Unwillingly, tears formed in Loki’s eyes and he brushed them away angrily. He didn’t want Thor’s kindness now, no matter how safe and loved it made him feel. He wanted to be alone.

“You can leave it at the door,” he told his brother quietly.

He heard Thor sigh. “Alright. But, Loki, you can come back to our room anytime you like, alright? I promise I won’t make you talk. There is no need to spend the rest of the night in there.”

The words went straight to Loki’s heart. If Thor only knew how often Loki used to hide himself away like this. Still, he recognized that Thor was trying very hard to give him space and make him feel comfortable at the same time which was more than he’d ever bothered to do in the past.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I’ll consider it.”

“I’ll be in our room if you need me.”

A moment later, Loki heard Thor’s footsteps fade away down the hall. He picked himself up off the floor and cautiously opened the door. As promised, a warm blanket was waiting for him on the ground, one of Thor’s own and red like his cape. Gratefully, Loki wrapped it around himself. He spent the rest of the night wandering the empty halls and only went back to his room in the early morning hours when he was sure Thor was sleeping again.

Thor didn’t mention any of what happened the night before when he woke up the next morning. He simply smiled at Loki, though his happiness dimmed a little when he noticed the dark shadows Loki knew must be beneath his eyes. Together, they went about their business for the day and if Thor noticed that Loki went out of his way to avoid the Hulk he didn’t say anything about it. Neither did Heimdall but Loki felt his eyes resting on him more than once during the day. It reminded him of why he sent the guardian of the Bifrost away in the first place during his reign of Asgard. His all-seeing gaze never failed to unnerve him.

Thor joined him for dinner that evening and afterwards came with him to their room instead of visiting the Hulk as he usually did. Loki watched him fuss with the blankets of his bed for a whole minute before he broke the silence.

“I do not need a babysitter,” he pointed out.

Thor paused in his movements and looked up at him. He pushed a hand through his short hair in embarrassment. “I know you don’t,” he said. “Do you want me to leave?”

Without thinking about it Loki shook his head. “No. I just want to get some sleep.”

“Of course, you must be tired,” Thor said. He took a step back and silently watched as Loki shed his armor and got comfortable on the ground. Suddenly, he smiled. “Do you remember how we used to build blanket forts in your room?”

“When it was time for bed mother would crawl inside and tell us a goodnight story,” Loki said quietly. “Sometimes, she’d fall asleep along with us.”

Without meaning to the air in front of them started to shimmer and a memory appeared. Their mother’s gentle voice carried through the room as she told them about the history of the stars while she projected them onto the ceiling. With a shaky wave of Loki’s hand, the illusion disappeared as quickly as it had materialized.

“I miss her, too,” Thor said quietly. He clasped Loki’s shoulder briefly. “Goodnight, brother.”

That night, the nightmares were especially vicious. Loki was falling again and then suddenly he wasn’t and instead there was only pain. He remembered piercing blue eyes before every bone in his body was broken, mended together again only to be broken once more. He was touched by strange hands, drowned, burned, whipped and electrocuted, over and over again until he lost his voice from screaming. Then Thanos laid siege on his mind, tainting his most precious memories and making fun of the most painful ones. He made him see his family, made him believe they were coming to rescue him only to snatch that hope away with a cruel laugh.

In the end, Loki had succumbed to Thanos but the pain hadn’t stopped there. It had never stopped since then and he remembered his mother’s face when she caught a brief glance of his nightmares in prison, full of anguish and pity when she realized what her son had gone through after he was lost to her.

The nightmare shifted. In the blink of an eye he was back on Sakaar and suddenly it wasn’t the Chitauri’s hands that were touching him but the Grandmaster’s and once again Loki endured because he had no other choice if he wanted to survive. Another blink, and electricity flowed through him and he dropped to the ground in pain. Above him stood his brother and threw the one thing away that would grant him release from the agony that felt horribly, terrifyingly familiar. In his heart, Loki knew that Thor had no idea what kind of memories he was dredging up in Loki’s mind by doing this but it didn’t make the betrayal any less painful. He watched Thor leave him behind, utterly helpless and in pain and at the mercy of whoever would find him. In a way that hurt even worse than anything Thanos had come up with.

“Thor!” Loki shouted as he jerked awake.

Strong fingers clasped his hands with unbelievable gentleness and carefully pried them away from the blankets. “I am here, Loki.”

Wild-eyed, Loki turned his head to his right. There his brother was, kneeling beside his bed of blankets, looking at him with more concern than Loki could stand. He drew his hands out of Thor’s grasp and turned away from his brother, trying to get his panicked breathing back under control. Electric after-images made him itch all over.

“You left me,” he hissed out, hunching in on himself. “How could you do that?”

Behind him, Thor took in a sharp breath. Loki heard electricity crackle und shuddered, trying to make himself small.

“How could you make me believe you were dead?” Thor countered with barely controlled anger. “Twice, Loki.”

Loki whirled around. “The first time wasn’t intentional,” he said defensively.

“But letting go was,” Thor growled.

Loki clenched his eyes shut, trying not to think about falling and the unbelievable pain that followed. “Had I known then what would happen to me, I’d have rather just drank poison and be done with it,” he whispered.

Taken aback, the anger in Thor’s face was replaced by confusion. “What do you mean? Losing the Battle of New York?”

Loki scoffed and turned his head away, not wanting his brother to see the tears that were forming in his eyes against his will. “I never wanted to rule New York, or Midgard for that matter. I only wanted to come home.”

“That’s not what you said back then,” Thor pointed out.

“Back then,” Loki pressed out, “I wasn’t myself. Not entirely. I never worked willingly with Thanos, Thor. I was his prisoner for months and you cannot even begin to imagine what that was like.”

Thor stared at him as if he was seeing his brother for the first time. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Because no one would have believed me,” Loki said with a shaky, self-deprecating laugh. “I’m the god of lies, remember? And I was still so angry at Odin, at you – even at mother - for letting that happen to me.” He let out a broken sob. “There I was, expecting you to come looking for me, so sure that you would rescue me from that hellhole. But guess what? You didn’t. You left me there to rot.”

Thor was quiet for a moment. “We didn’t know you were still alive,” he said in a small voice.

“So you just assumed I was dead?” Loki asked hysterically.

“Mother didn’t,” Thor whispered. “She begged father to search for you but he wouldn’t. At the time I didn’t know why but now, after learning about Hela, it all starts to make sense.”

“He thought I was just like her and was glad to be rid of me,” Loki surmised. Angrily, he wiped the tears away that managed to break free. “And then I proved him right and he locked me away just like he did with her.”

Thor nodded. He looked shaken to the core. “I should have fought him harder on the matter. Mother never gave up on you and neither should I have.”

“I gave up on myself when I realized you weren’t coming,” Loki confessed quietly. “At one point it all just became too much. The torture, the mind games, the constant voice inside my head – I only agreed to the Midgard invasion because I thought I could break free of him there and make my way home to you. I – I underestimated his power.”

Loki could feel his brother tentatively moving closer to him. “Is that what your dreams are about? Your time in captivity?”

“Sometimes,” Loki whispered.

“Show me,” Thor asked in a voice that was so gentle that Loki heard his mother in it. He reached for one of Loki’s hands again and Loki let him. “Allow me to share the burden you have carried for so long.”

For a moment, Loki hesitated. He hadn’t willingly shared his memories with anyone since before his fall from the Bifrost. And even then it had only ever been his mother whom he had trusted enough with his mind. Looking at Thor’s honest face he decided to put his faith in his brother for one last time. “Place your hand on my temple,” he instructed softly.

When Thor did so, Loki covered his brother’s hand with his own and established the connection between their minds. He showed Thor everything – his fall, his capture, the torture sessions that seemed endless, the mind games, the hope, fear and disappointment. Then the Battle of New York, the feeling of powerlessness, of having no control over his own body, the pure terror when the Hulk got a hold of him and the quiet relief when he realized he was taken home. After that, the cell in Asgard’s prison, the constant nightmares about what happened, the after-images of Thanos in his mind threatening to find him again, his mother coming to visit him and him lashing out at her because he couldn’t bear her gentleness after everything that happened even though he longed for nothing more than to feel her arms around him, his last words to her and the regret and anger and pain he felt when he learned of her death. Finally, the desperate happiness at Odin’s recognition, the paralyzing fear when the magician had him falling through the portal and later when Hela pushed him off the Bifrost, the disgust he felt when the Grandmaster looked him up and down with leering eyes, the terror when he saw the Hulk in the arena, and in the end the humiliation when he was thrown through the air and used as a weapon and the utter pain and betrayal when Thor put the device on him and started the electric current.

Thor wrenched his hand away with a gasp. Tears were falling from his good eye as he stared at Loki. “I had no idea,” he breathed, sounding shocked.

Loki, unable to hold back any longer, allowed his own tears to drip down his face and buried his head in his knees. “That’s what my nightmares are about. Now you know.”

“I am so sorry,” Thor told him.

“Me, too,” Loki said, his breath hitching despite his efforts to stop his tears. “I am not innocent in all of this, I know that. I should have never deceived you about my death in Svartalfheim. I should have found another way to stop your coronation. I should have been stronger and resisted Thanos.”

“And father and mother should have never lied to you,” Thor added gently.

Loki shook his head. “No, father should have just left me for dead in Jotunheim. Then none of this would have happened.”

“Do not say that,” Thor whispered harshly. “You are my brother, Loki. I would not change that for anything in the Nine Realms.”

“Not even if it meant your friends were still alive? The Allfather – mother?” Loki asked, raising his head to look at Thor.

For a moment, Thor was quiet. Then Loki felt his brother’s arms embracing him carefully. Gently, Thor pressed his temple against Loki’s. “Not even for them.”

Unwillingly, Loki’s mind was filled with Thor’s memories. In front of them, moments from their past flickered into existence. Loki watched himself turning into a snake and remembered the feeling of utter contentment when Thor picked him up and hugged him close, just as he was doing now.

“There was always mischief in everything you did,” Thor mumbled into his ear as they watched his younger self startle when Loki turned back to himself and stabbed him with a wooden dagger before he ran away laughing. “But it brought much laughter into our home.”

The scene changed and their mother stood before them, hands resting on her hips and an amused smile on her face. Loki’s breath hitched in his throat and despite his best efforts, new tears formed in his eyes as he saw her.

“Why is my evening dress wet, hm?” she asked her two young sons who were standing before her.

Loki wouldn’t meet her eyes but Thor grinned up at her. “Loki turned it into a bird and made it fly, mother! It was amazing!”

Their mother’s eyes flicked over to Loki. “That doesn’t explain why it’s wet when the sun has been shining so lovely all day.”

“I lost concentration and it fell in the pond in your garden,” Loki mumbled, shuffling his feet nervously.

Loki clearly remembered his surprise when his mother started laughing. “I guess we’ll have to work on that, hm?”

The scene changed and Loki watched his younger self practicing magic. Colorful illusions lit up his mother’s chambers as flickering butterflies flew through the room. Loki hadn’t known then that Thor had witnessed this, but now he could see his brother’s head peeking around the door, a look of wonder on his face.

“Well done, Loki!” his mother praised him with a warm smile. He reveled in the love he heard in her voice. “Now how about you turn those butterflies into something else?”

“Snakes!” Loki said at once. “Thor loves snakes!”

His mother chuckled. “Snakes it is, then.”

One by one, the butterflies fluttered to the ground and turned into snakes of every color imaginable.

“This is good, Loki!”

At the door, Thor started grinning happily.

In the next memory the throne room appeared before them and Loki watched his younger self transforming his father’s crown into a golden flower pot. Snickering, he looked at Thor who was grinning at him. A noise behind them startled them and they quickly hid behind some curtains as Odin and Frigga made their way into the throne room.

“Where is my crown?” Odin asked with a frown when he realized it wasn’t next to the throne. Behind the curtain, Thor giggled and Loki placed a hand over his mouth, hushing him.

Their mother’s amused glance moved briefly to the curtains before she walked up to Odin and placed a calming hand on his arm. “I am sure it will turn up again.”

Odin raised his eyebrow at her. “If you taught that boy some magical mischief …”

Frigga looked up innocently at him. “Me? I would never do that, husband.”

With a huff, Odin turned around and left the room. They watched their mother smile at his retreating back until the door closed behind him. She turned around. “You two little troublemakers can come out now.”

Thor burst into a fit of laughter while Loki offered his mother the golden flower pot sheepishly. “Are you mad?”

Frigga laughed. “For that? Of course not. But if I were you I’d make sure the crown is back here when your father returns.”

“Yes, mother,” Loki nodded. He concentrated and with a shimmer of golden seiꝺr the flower pot turned back into Odin’s crown.

“Very well done, Loki. I am proud of you,” Frigga smiled and the memory faded away.

Thor slowly pulled back from Loki and the illusions stopped. “This is why I would not change the past even if I could,” he murmured quietly. “There is much happiness to be found there.”

“I’d forgotten about the crown,” Loki whispered, still staring at the space where his mother was standing just moments ago. “I can’t believe mother lied to … to the Allfather’s face like that.”

Thor smiled warmly at him. “Mother always had a mischievous streak herself,” he said fondly. “Do you remember that one time she made our blanket fort collapse on top of us when we wouldn’t come out for dinner?”

“I tried to keep it upright with magic and you with pure strength,” Loki remembered, getting lost in the memory. They had been shrieking and breathless with laughter when the roof finally came down on top of them. He huffed out a wet laugh. “We were no match for her.”

“But we had fun,” Thor said.

Loki nodded, turning to look at him. “That we had.”

He saw Thor take a deep breath as if he gathered up his courage. Then his brother shuffled closer and picked up one of the blankets. “I know you have been through a lot since then, we both have, and some of what happened in the last few years may never go away, not completely, but-“ he hesitated, holding the blanket out to Loki in a silent offer. “Maybe we can start anew? Build on something that made us happy, once upon a time ago?”

Loki stared down at the blanket. “You want to build another blanket fort with me?” he asked slowly.

Thor paused, frowning down at the blanket in his hands. “When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous. Forget it, I-“

Loki snatched the blanket out of his hands with a grin and brushed his tears away. “Let’s do it.”

Thor’s eye sparkled with happiness and that alone was worth it. Together, they made do with what they had and created a fortress of blankets, pillows and the remnants of their capes. It was barely big enough for the two of them and was mostly held together by Loki’s magic, but they still grinned at each other when they were done.

They crawled inside and lay side by side in the small space. The warmth of Thor’s bodyheat seeped into Loki where their shoulders touched and he sighed in contentment. Raising a hand, he made stars appear on the ceiling just like his mother used to do, familiar constellations that rose over Asgard for thousands of years each night.

“Beautiful,” Thor whispered into the silence between them. He turned his head to look at Loki. His gaze was filled with warmth. “I am glad you are here with me, brother.”

Loki pondered that for a moment. “Me, too,” he said finally, softly.  

The comfort of Thor’s smile and the gentle touch as he lifted his arm to draw Loki closer followed him into his dreams as the stars above them winked out of existence and the ship took them and their people a little bit closer to a better future and a new beginning.  

**The end**


End file.
